Moonfin (25 page)

Now in full-blown panic, Lizzy turned and lunged deep within the cavern to avoid Samira's deadly gaze. But Samira, having cat-like reflexes, moved faster, and in mere seconds, pinned Lizzy to the floor before she could gain any distance on her. Lizzy slammed to the ground, eyes blurring from the impact, and with outstretched fingers scratched the dirt for anything to hurl back at the panther-lady.

It was then that she saw something very small shimmering only a few yards away …

The dust and sweat and tears could be playing tricks on her eyes. Was it a pool? Yes! A pool fed by a natural spring, no doubt. No wonder the floor was so damp!

With new hope, she reached her hand out as far as she could while one word came into her head, a long forgotten word—

“WHIRLIPTINGER!”

She didn't know what to expect from shouting this word, but the most peculiar thing did happen: the water from the pool floated out from the floor and came together to form something blue and glistening. It took a solid shape and hovered lightly above the surface, bubbles of laughter seeming to emanate from it.

The mere sight of the thing caused a split-second confusion in Samira and she faltered. Lizzy was then able to flip onto her back, pull her knees up to her chest, and kick Samira off balance in one fluid movement, shoving her several feet back against the wall.

“Whirliptinger! Come!” Lizzy shouted, and the shining blue ice blade flew right into her palm. She turned, thunderstruck, and brandished it at Samira, hoping to scare her off with the gurgling, effervescent object.

Samira swiftly recovered and pounced to her feet, seeming to grow larger and darker. She laughed derisively and hissed, “What do you think? You can hurt me with your little blue sword?”

Lizzy honestly didn't know.

“I—can't—
die
,” she snarled, charging at Lizzy, ten stinger-like nails fully outstretched.

Lizzy held out the sword in front of her and closed her eyes, waiting and shaking. She felt something slam into her. When she opened them again she saw Samira's stunned face close to hers, claws dangling twitchily above her head, and looking down, the gleaming sword straight through her chest. Samira's eyes suddenly turned stark-white, and she snorted loudly, followed by uncontrollable giggles … then waves and waves of a side-splitting laughter soon possessing her—

“Haahhh … tee hee heeeeee—oh stop!” She twisted and squirmed. “No, no, no, NO! Please make it stop, stop, STOP! NOOOAHAHAHAAHHH …!”

Then a blue tear streamed down Samira's cheek and froze in place. Azure veins streaked from the wound and spread throughout her entire body like tiny creeping tendrils. The laughter grew louder and stronger, and it so overcame the Cold Fear, that she began to rumble like a great crackling glacier, splintering and snapping throughout. Turning entirely to blue ice, Samira shattered into a cloud of tiny crystals and hovered eerily above the ground for a few seconds, quickly evaporating behind the lava walls and out of sight.

Lizzy didn't move at first. When she realized Samira was gone, she cracked a small quivering smile.
Tickled to death
, she thought bizarrely at the moment. The blade fell to her side. Instinctively she knew to lay it back in the pool where it immediately dissolved into water molecules once again. “I guess you're no ordinary sword,” she said as it fizzled away.

Then she stood listening and peering into the hollow darkness for any movement. The bear was nowhere to be found, but she could hear Jeff and Kai call her name from somewhere. They finally found each other in a tunnel between the two caves.

“Are you okay? We lost you, and that nasty fanged beast cornered us,” said Kai, catching her breath.

“Yeah—I'm okay now.” She wiped the dust from her face and clothes. “Where did the panther go?”

Jeff and Kai exchanged glances, unsure.

“Dunno. It was about to pounce with its needlelike claws and jagged teeth, but turned and jumped right into the cave wall—like
poof!
”

They all breathed a sigh of relief.

“We found a door behind the cave wall,” said Jeff, throwing a nod behind him. “It's unlocked—there's a set of stairs behind it. I think you were right about this being the back way in …”

He retold the story of how he and Kai ended up trapped in a cave with the panther after losing her down a separate tunnel, but Lizzy's mind wandered elsewhere.
Who was it that spoke her name only moments ago
?
And where did that bear come from
?
Where did it go
?

“He saved my life,” she whispered distractedly.

“Earth to Lizzy—let's get a move on—no time to daydream,” said Jeff, now nudging Lizzy through the tunnel.

The cavern door Jeff and Kai had discovered was tucked away in a very squiggly alcove. It was so well hidden they must've passed it three or more times in all the running about. The creaky door opened onto a landing, and a steep staircase cascaded into dim lights below. There were rumblings and music and smells! And
people
! They could hear the shuffling of feet on a hard floor and smell the aroma of roasting meat wafting up the staircase to their eager noses. They rushed pell-mell down the stairs to meet whatever was brewing about, Jeff rubbing his belly the whole way.

Upon reaching the bottom, they poked their heads around a corner and found swarms of people in a grand circular room. There were many shops and arched doorways going this way and that carved from the lava rock and speckled throughout with dull blue lights. Some of the people seemed to be in a hurry, many stood around looking at signs or storefronts. No one seemed to notice them, or their surprised faces at finding actual people inside a mountain.

Lizzy pointed to one of the archways and a sign that read
CHIROPTERA CAFÉ
. “That looks like a good place to start,” she said.

“What does chiroptera mean?” wondered Kai.

They casually ambled through a doorway strung with rainforest plants. The scene was very similar to any café in town, with tables and people eating around them, except—

“Bats,” answered Lizzy.

And many bats there were, all hanging upside down and zipping overhead in chaotic clumps. The ceiling swarmed with hundreds of the black critters. They flitted and dove, coming ever so close to their heads and missing them by only inches. It didn't seem to bother anyone in the room, even when the bats landed on their plates and took a bite of food. Bits of fruit and meat went whizzing by as if it were a completely lovely way to dine.

“I think I lost my appetite,” said Jeff glumly.

“That's a first,” snorted Kai.

Lizzy looked around the room for an empty spot. “Let's grab a table and see what we can find out.”

They seated themselves in the back corner. The diners didn't bother to look at them, or notice how they ducked to avoid the dive-bombing bats. A tall, stick-thin waiter, dressed in a blue apron and holding a small pad of paper, glided over to them. His nametag read “Deg.”

“Hellooooo thaaarr. Didjoo have a pleeeesant treeeep? Whatja station didjoo be coming froooom?” he said to them cheerfully.

They blinked, befuddled by the funny way he spoke.

“Station?” said Lizzy uncertainly.

“Jessss, whichja be joo? Mostly ja Sightseers comz ter Blowing Prawn.”

“Yes, we are …
Sightseers
,” answered Kai at once. She was way better at this playing along thing than Lizzy.

“Ahh theeen, joo be Neptunian ee thiiinks. Todeez spetchel iz elephantzpaaaasta,” Deg said proudly, lingering on the word “pasta.”

“That sounds good,” said Jeff, licking his lips and looking over the menu at all the odd items like Tiny Rhino Toes and Deep Fried Moon Worms. “Is that giant-sized pasta noodles in a sauce of some kind?” he asked.

“Noop, tuskz and nailz of elephantz grooond intoo jee noodlezha. Jeeza favooooritz,” Deg replied, smiling.

Jeff's face drooped.

“Uhh—I'll pass on that.”

“Howts aboyt a bluefitzer tooo whet jee belly? Neptunian likeez theez.” They all thought that sounded good and ordered a round. Deg zipped off and soon returned carrying three large mugs of a blue, bubbly substance, all with a strange blob floating at the bottom of the glass.

Lizzy took a sip, swiping the air frequently to keep the feeding bats away, and started asking the waiter questions. She hoped for easy answers.

“So this place is—”

“Jee Waystation, ob coooursz.” His eyes narrowed slightly.

A Waystation
, thought Lizzy. That sounded very much like a place to travel through, like an airport.

“And do people come through here on their way to somewhere else?”

“Jessss, whoja leavz jee placesz, Doctooor Krell heelpz jeeem.”

The mention of Dr. Krell made them all jolt.

“Does Dr. Krell visit the Waystation?” said Jeff with suave casualness (a tone often used by the Pinkertons when trying to wrangle prized pie recipes from little old ladies).

“Jess, sometimz jee doctooor comzez oop froom jee levelz belowz oos … escuuuuzee,” he said abruptly, and sped away to the fountain to help more customers.

Lizzy picked up her bluefitzer and spun it around in her hand, thinking about what they had discovered so far. She took another sip and smacked her lips before drinking a few more gulps. Jeff had already drunk half of his, and Kai wouldn't touch hers—it was that blob-thing at the bottom. It seemed to be staring at her.

“I know two things, at least,” said Lizzy. “One—Xili is right, Krell is here.” Now that they knew Krell was somewhere in the vicinity, they could begin searching for a way into the rooms below.

“Great, what's the other thing?” said Jeff, chugging down the rest of his bluefitzer, including the fleshy globule at the bottom of the glass. “
Buurrrp
! That wasn't half bad—a delightful blend of blueberry and mint.”

“That blob-thing you just swallowed had lips.”

Kai stifled a giggle.

Jeff broke into a smile. “I know, teeth too—felt it nick the side of my cheek on the way down.”

They got up to pay their drink bill—thankfully the café took regular money—and Kai grabbed a handful of candy sitting on the counter that looked like raisin-shaped chewing gum.

“I know what this is,” she said, tossing a few in her mouth. “Not bad! I miss my old habit.”

“Bat poop, that's what it is,” snickered Jeff.

She blew a colossal brown bubble the size of her head and inhaled it back into her mouth.

“These have super stretchy blowing bubbliciousness. And no, Jeff, unless bat poop tastes like caramel.”

“Well, actually—”

“DON'T SAY IT! I don't want to know!”

Chapter 17
THE CONSTELLULIARY

T
he great lava rotunda surrounded them on all sides. Blaring signs advertised countless shops, selling endless services, and, along with offering the best in travel and shoes, there were some interesting items Jeff, Kai, and Lizzy had never seen before. One store sold teeth in all colors, shapes, sizes … and
species
. Another sold ears: blue ears, pointed ears, round ears, and even green fuzzy ears. The wig shop was especially mesmerizing: purple unicorn manes and the pouf of the Golden Pheasant brightly hung in the shop's front window.

“Razzle-Dazzle Neon Bowties,” muttered Jeff admiringly. “This is my kind of hangout!”

Kai spun slowly around, entranced by all the lights and colors spilling over the walls of the lava cave. She had never been any place so
metropolitan
before.

Lizzy spun around too, but for a different reason.

“Where are the exit doors?” she said in an anxious tone. “There isn't a
single one
leading out of this room, no hallways, or even a sign advertising a ferry ride to the mainland.”

“You're right,” said Jeff. “No way out. Maybe it's a secret door like the vending machine?”

Lizzy blinked and rubbed her eyes.

“Unless … look
there
. Do you see it?”

Jeff squinted into the wall where she was pointing. “No—wait—do you mean that little flickering light floating across the ceiling?” It took a minute for their searching eyes to bring the images into clear focus.

“I see them now!”

“I see them too,” said Kai. “And oh! They're moving. Funny—I'm sure they weren't there a second ago.”

The entire round room, which was the size of a train station, was covered in constellations: star clusters and planets, meteor belts and gas nebulas—all in constant motion. Swirling all around them were asteroids, burning suns, gas clouds in bright rings of color. They stood goggling, with popping eyes and awestruck grins, in the middle of the Milky Way Galaxy, brimming with brilliant planets and billions of pulsating stars.

“There went the Big Dipper!” exhaled Lizzy.

Kai gasped.